SAVE THE DATE! Join us September 15th for the 2nd webinar on Decolonizing Climate Policy.

Click here to register

In March of this year, ICA released our report Decolonizing Climate Policy in Canada. This report outlined an in-depth analysis of recent federal climate plans: the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change (2016) and A Healthy Environment, A Healthy Economy (2020).  In examining these plans, we found that climate policy in Canada is: 

1. failing to drive the scale of climate action that is needed

2. including policies that may exacerbate existing economic and social inequalities

3. excluding Indigenous Peoples from policy-making tables, thereby violating Indigenous rights including our rights to free, prior, and informed consent 

Given these failures, Indigenous-led climate policy has become increasingly important to ensure solutions to the climate crisis are both just and effective. 

As part of this work we have begun Phase Two, led by an Advisory Council, to explore what decolonial climate policies might look and feel like. As part of this work we are launching a webinar series to bring Indigenous voices to the forefronts of these discussions.

How are we letting the land speak for itself?

Dismantling the status quo is difficult. But it is achievable if  we look to  our generational knowledge of the land as Indigenous folks. The information is there, as it has always been, through our stories, histories, and relationships we have fostered with our non-human relatives.

“First Nations, Metis and Inuit communities offer an abundance of teachings, worldviews, alternative livelihoods and economic systems that value interdependence, reciprocity and respect for all life. These are the counterforce to the extractive, exploitative colonial-capitalist systems at the root of the climate crisis. These are the climate solutions that are urgently needed. “

When brainstorming the immense question of who would be on this Advisory Council, the team looked at ways we could counter the problem of “pan-Indigeneity”, and we decided to look to the land itself.  And so, in creating our Advisory Council for the Decolonizing Climate Policy project, we sought out members based on their connection to the land, to represent the five Biomes in so-called Canada - tundra, boreal forest, grassland, temperate deciduous forest, and mountain forest. We also selected one youth representative to raise the voices of the youth in the Council. 

Join us  on September 15th, at 12:30-2pm CST, in a webinar that will feature spotlight presentations and a discussion with four members of our Decolonizing Climate Policy Advisory Council. They will discuss the impacts of climate change in their communities and Biomes, as well as the Indigenous-led solutions being implemented on the ground. 

Our panelists include members of the Advisory Council:

• Tiffany Traverse from Secwepemc Territory (Mountain Forests biome)

• Pamela Beebe of the Kainai Nation (Grasslands biome)

• Jesse Unaapik Mike from Iqaluit, Nunavut (Tundra/Arctic biome)

• Bryanna Brown is Inuk and Mi’kmaq from Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador (Youth representative).

The discussion will be moderated by ICA’s Executive Director, Eriel Deranger, and will build on the reflections from our first webinar with Grandmother and Knowledge Keeper, Sophia Rabliaukus. This webinar will be offered in English, with simultaneous translation to French.

The discourse in so-called Canada has to include the Indigenous knowledge holders, who are the experts of their land and waters.

So grab your tea or coffee and join us as we are gifted with their experiences, challenges, and stories in exploring the Indigenous-led solutions to climate change, which is vital for the health and safety of all of Sacred Earth’s relatives!

For more information on the project and ways to support this work please email Rebecca Sinclair at climatepolicy@indigenousclimateaction.com.

Miss the first webinar? Check out the recording of Webinar #1 ahead of our next conversation, where Grandmother and Knowledge Keeper, Sophia Rabliaukus shares her experience in the establishment of the Pimachiowin Aki World Heritage Site. 

Rebecca Sinclair, Sarah Hanson, and Dr. Jen Gobby